


What to Do In The Land of Departure When You're Mourning

by Alexilulu



Series: Time Can Never Kill the True Heart [2]
Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Angst and Fluff and Smut, Body Worship, Established Relationship, F/M, Post-Canon, Trans Female Character, Trans Male Character
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-12
Updated: 2018-11-12
Packaged: 2019-08-22 20:54:47
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,053
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16605287
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Alexilulu/pseuds/Alexilulu
Summary: When the dust settles, Terra and Aqua return home to pick up the pieces.





	What to Do In The Land of Departure When You're Mourning

**Author's Note:**

> Shout outs to the ever-incredible [yormgen](https://archiveofourown.org/users/yormgen) for inspiring me to do this and also providing much-needed feedback in the form of screaming when I showed them it.
> 
> The best thing about canonical body transformation magic (thanks, atlantica) is that it means you can just have trans people living without having to get into the nitty gritty about it. They're like 30 now, it's part of them but it's fine.
> 
> Assumes Terra and Aqua's hair color are permanently affected by their experiences, with Terra retaining the bright white hair and Aqua ending up at a silvery-blue.

    Sitting in the rubble of your childhood home does something to your head, Terra’s decided. Melancholy, nostalgia and an unbreakable sense of time long passed end up mingling together into a deep sense of loss. Twelve long years, all gone now.

Now here he sits on a fallen column in the castle courtyard, thinking about the past and watching Aqua beat the crap out of one of the new keyblade wielders. One of the kids wanted to spar, work on his keyblade skills, and she’s sure as hell gonna give him a workout. He’d think Aqua actually enjoys playing Master with how quickly she jumped at the task.

    Watching the two square off, Terra realizes he can’t think of the guy’s name. He’s seen him before now, of course, there's recognition somewhere in there but the name is lost on him. You’d think someone with such a ridiculously distinctive mane of red hair would be easy to remember, but...well. Someone introduced him, once, towards the end of everything, he thinks. Probably Sora. That kid’ll introduce you to people you’ve already met if it meant he could make an extra friend in doing so. There’s an X in his name, Terra’s almost positive.

        Terra snaps himself out of his reverie with the help of Aqua's crashing assault on her would-be apprentice, the clang of key on key bringing him back to reality. He tries his best to focus on Aqua’s bladework, not wanting to miss any of it in one of his fuzzier moments. She moves like he's never seen her move before, striking and fading back with the fury of a tidal wave. Once upon a time, he chided her for the weakness of her blade skills, pointing out with a smile that magic will only get you so far (he paid for that jibe, later). It feels like that Aqua is long gone now, faded like her steely blue hair is now. In her place stands an Aqua that offers no quarter.

    The kid moves fast, loose and with a surprising grace for someone who looks like a stick glued to more sticks. He moves back from a barrage of iron-hard strikes with the grace of a dancer, spinning his keyblade on his wrist and catching it before it flies off. Showy, but not good technique. Aqua punishes him for it in their next exchange, meeting his every swing with a hammerstrike. Aqua's thin keyblade bat's his fiery blade aside like it’s made of nothing more than the weakest wood and flings it from his grasp, where it vaporizes into light and reappears in his hand a moment later. His swordsmanship is sloppy and full of holes and Aqua rides every flaw with gusto, throwing out strokes that pierce gaps in his defense again and again, battering him backwards and falling back to let him breathe before beginning another exchange.

In the ruined courtyard where Master Eraqus died, Aqua shows every ounce of the skill he instilled in her and so much more. The years that have passed since then have only proven her to be a Keyblade Master in the truest sense. Terra's proud to see her still standing, even if he worries that she may be too hard on this kid.

    This all started when the kid came by looking for advice, saying that Yen Sid couldn’t teach him how to handle his keyblade to his liking, so he came to a pair of old pros for help. The ‘old’ was really leaned on, and he definitely gave both Terra and Aqua’s silvered hair a look. Aqua didn’t rise to the bait even as she agreed to give him a shot (while Terra nearly chewed him out for the jibe), but...something’s off. This isn’t Aqua’s normal form, graceful as her namesake. She’s...angry, striking with unbelievable force.  

    Aqua smashes through the boy’s defense again and again in another hailstorm of metal, driving him back inch by inch with a strength Terra had never imagined Aqua to possess. On the last strike, she plants her feet and throws out an overhead kendo strike so heavy that the boy actually goes down on one knee blocking it. Tisking audibly, Aqua banishes her keyblade and pulls him to his feet. Terra realizes then that Aqua's bladework wasn't hers…it's much more like his, both back before the Mark of Mastery exam and now.

    “ _Where_ did you learn to fight?” Her question is simple, but the bitter tone makes it sound like an accusation.

    The apprentice climbs to his feet, brushing himself off and dismissing his own blade. “This keyblade stuff is nothing like I ever did before, y’know? Chakram fighting and keyblade fighting are about a billion miles apart. I’ve picked up a few things from Sora, and a little from Ven too, but otherwise I've just...learned from doing.” He shrugs.

    Aqua sighs with frustration. “You’re basically just swinging the thing around and hoping your opponent falls over, Lea.” Oh, there’s his name. Where did Terra get an X in there from?

    …Oh. Right. Axel. Well, that explains a lot about the nervous look he got earlier when Terra nearly bit his head off about calling Aqua old.

    “Yen Sid was a fool to let you out into the worlds with blademanship like that.” Aqua walks away from Lea and grabs a towel from the grass at the edge of the courtyard, wiping down the sheen of sweat she broke into and casting it back to the floor in anger.

    Lea seems not to get the hint, pursuing her to the edge of the courtyard and running his mouth. “Hey, now, c’mon. S’not like we gotta worry about Heartless anymore, right? The worlds are at peace once more and all that. You even let Ven run off to visit old friends, what’s the point in worrying about this stuff?” Ooh, boy, that set her off. Aqua spins on Lea and opens her mouth to shout him down, so Terra hops to his feet and intercedes, stepping between them. Lea goes from smiling to surprised terror in a flash.

    “You should head home, Lea. Aqua’s very busy with other things besides training. Tomorrow, maybe _I_ can show you some techniques to close the gaps in your defense.” Aqua closes her mouth, and he can tell she’s glaring at him out of the corner of his eye, but he keeps his attention focused on Lea. Terra claps him on the shoulder, just to drive home the ‘you should probably go’ feeling he’s trying to put out. Lea, for his part, looks either terrified or like he’s gonna try to belt him for touching him. Terra would put money on the latter, given circumstances. He does feel a little bad strong arming the kid out of the picture, but better than than Aqua tearing him in half. “There’s a spare room in what’s left of the east wing. You can sleep there tonight, no problem.”

    “...Sure, alright.” Terra removes his hand and Lea fast-walks off into the half-cleared ruins of the castle in the general direction of the aforementioned room. Terra finally turns his attention on Aqua, who has crossed her arms while continuing to stare up at him.

    “What? Come on, you’re being too hard on him. Even if he can barely deflect a blow, he can take care of himself.” Terra turns, walking back to his seat on the column and sitting with it at his back. He pats the grass next to him, and Aqua instead towers over him, standing at his feet.

    “He’s not even a tenth as trained as we were before we left, and Yen Sid is just letting him wander? I can’t be okay with that, Terra.”

    “Sure you can. Look at me, I’m okay with it.” Terra gestures expansively around him. “The worlds are as safe as they’re ever gonna be right now.”

    “You don’t know that. You _can’t_ know that, either. Things are so fragile right now...anything could break that peace in a second. I can’t believe I let Ven go back out there without one of us.”

    “Aqua, look. Ven’s got friends in every world he’s ever been to, and he’ll make more in every new one he visits. He’s in good hands, most of them would die before letting somebody hurt a hair on his head.” Terra leaves it unsaid that both of them would do the same. Or that Aqua’s only staying here to watch over Terra. Like he could break and fall to the darkness at any moment.

    To be honest, he’s worried that the same may happen to Aqua.

    “Anything could be brewing out there, waiting for another chance to take a shot the worlds, at Kingdom Hearts. We both know the darkness doesn’t just disappear if you shine a light on it. It crawls away and licks its wounds.”

    “ _Aqua_.” Terra pats the grass next to him again. “Sit down.” She scoffs, arms still folded, but breaks after just another minute of silent staring and a few more pats of the grass until it’s got a well-worn handprint matting it down.

    “Okay, I’m sitting.” Aqua says as she takes her seat next to him.

    “Good, you were killing my neck.” The joke doesn’t even get the hint of a smile out of Aqua, still grim-faced and frustrated. “You’re making a bigger deal out of this than I thought you would. What are you so afraid of?”

    “That I may have said goodbye to someone I love, yet again. I...Terra, I saw him fall asleep and then that was it, he was still there but he was gone. I can’t do that again.” She sighs, pulling her knees to her chest. “Anything could happen out there, you know as well as I do. What if somebody else gets it in their head to go hunting for the Ⲭ-blade? What if some acolyte of Xehanort that got lost to time comes out of nowhere and destroys everything? We’re not ready for another war. I can't get these kids up to par enough to stop something like that, not this soon.”

    “You’re right. We’re not ready for another war. But.” Terra holds up a finger when Aqua opens her mouth. “That war, if it happens, will happen regardless of how prepared or not we are for it. You beating up a baby keyblade wielder and telling him he sucks isn’t gonna make him any more prepared for whatever comes out of the darkness next than if you had just given him a normal lesson.” Terra exhales, running a hand through his hair. “If you were really worried about another Xehanort, you wouldn’t be here, watching me rebuild this pile of junk. So tell me what you’re really afraid of.”

Aqua doesn’t say anything at all, looking away from Terra and into the distance. “Tell you what. I’ll make it even. Tell you what I fear most and why.” He clears his throat, suddenly self-conscious. “I’m afraid of smothering Ven. I’d have chained him up in the basement if I thought it would keep him safe from whatever’s out there. But that’s not Ven, that shouldn’t be his life, not anymore. I know exactly what you mean, not wanting that goodbye to be forever. But I can’t, I won’t let that stop me from letting him live the life he deserved to be living the last decade. He has to live, just like we have to accept that he needs to live in his own way and not in ours.”

Aqua’s head collides with his shoulder with a small thump as she leans against him. “...You know, you weren’t that good at this the last time we talked.”

“I had a lot of time to think about how badly I made a mess of things. I don’t want to keep being old Terra.”

“New Terra’s got his own sort of charm, I’ll admit.” Aqua sighs, leaning into him until Terra moves his arm around her shoulders, resting her head in the crook of his arm.

They sit in silence together, watching the twilight bloom over them into a familiar field of stars. “I’m afraid that we missed out on our chance to choose our paths. We all lost so much time, so much has changed and now here we are. Sitting in the ashes of our mistakes, picking through rubble and trying to put the pieces back together. What if they don’t fit anywhere?”

Terra hums thoughtfully. “Okay, we’re not the same as we were. We're beat up, got broken down and built ourselves back up. Any of those broken pieces, we make new ones and mourn the ones we can't replace. We did what we thought we had to do, you and me and Ven too, for better or for worse. But we made it through, and now we’re gonna change things ourselves.” He points to the courtyard, the first area painstakingly cleared and set up for public use. It took him and Aqua nearly a month just to get the rubble cleared enough for them to have somewhere to sleep while they try to clear out the castle and figure out how much is salvageable. He still thinks about those nights under the stars together all the time. “When I look at that, I don't see rubble and ashes. I see a new start to life. We’re setting the groundwork to make a place where this generation of keyblade masters can become what they want to be, not what they had to be like us. Somewhere where Ven can come home and leave when he wants to.”

Aqua doesn't respond for another long time, staring at the spot where Master died, the keyblade she carried for so long stabbed into a simple stone cairn to mark his memorial. Finally, she digs her head further into the side of his chest and fights back a sob. “...I miss him so much, Terra.”

“I know. I miss Master more than anything. I wish I could have said goodbye before...before. But we’re honoring his memory as best as we can. You and me, and Ven too, in his own way.”

“Yeah.”

“C’mon, it’s late. You gotta be tired after that workout beating the stuffing outta Lea.” The stars are fading into view in the evening twilight, and neither of them move.

“I’m not tired.” Aqua sighs. “And I’m still a little angry at that ‘old pro’ bit from him.”

“Hey. One old pro to another, you make it look _very_ good. Now up you go.” Terra climbs to his feet, hauling Aqua up when she takes his hand. “Come on, you can work off that stress with me before bed then.”

She doesn’t let go of his hand as they head into their ruined home. “Oh, I have a few ideas for how to do that.” Her hand feels nice in his, warm. He’s grown to enjoy touch so much more now, after so long without anything like it. It is distracting from his thinking about how he’s gonna keep her from kicking his ass as badly in the dojo tonight, though.

* * *

    In Aqua’s apartments in the west wing, Terra lets her hand finally go as he steps into the dojo anteroom, hunting for some of the old training blades that survived. The entire west wing was almost untouched by the destruction of the rest of the world, somehow. Maybe Master Eraqus had something to do with it. Or maybe they just got lucky. Once they’d cleared a path to it, Aqua ended up moving into Master’s chambers, at Terra’s insistence. If the Land of Departure is to be a welcome place for the keyblade wielders of the worlds, then pride of place should be given to a Keyblade Master. Aqua, for her part, has cleared out much of Master’s already austere belongings, leaving a key few to ensure his memory is not forgotten.

    Finally producing the blades from a cupboard, Terra holds them aloft triumphantly. “Found them! Do you want the— “ When he turns, Aqua is no longer right behind him. Aqua sits in a chair on the other side of the room in the parlor, legs crossed. She tilts her head at him, confused. “Was that your idea of stress relief, Terra? Because it wasn’t mine. Get over here and take off your shirt.”

    Oh.

    _OH!_

    Oh. Oh shit.

    He drops the swords with a thump, stripping out of his compression shirt and abandoning it on the tatami as he crosses to Aqua. Without being asked, he sits down side-saddle on her lap and gets a smile for his trouble.

    “It’s very sweet that your first thought for how to make me feel better was ‘let Aqua kick my ass’, though.” Aqua places a hand on his cheek. Terra turns into it and kisses her palm, smiling against it. “Are you disappointed?”

    “What could I possibly be disappointed about?” He takes her hand off of his face and places it against his throat, her thumb brushing against his jugular. “That the most beautiful person in my life wants to see me naked?” He smiles wider when she presses his pulse point, inhaling softly.

    “Mm.” Releasing his neck, she pulls him down to her by the shoulder. “You’re making me blush.” Their lips meet, Aqua’s tongue slipping into his mouth for only a moment before she pulls back, clicking her tongue. “It’s more fun for both of us if you kiss back, you know.”

    “Oh. Sorry.”

    “It’s okay, I have other ideas. Get on the floor.” Terra shifts off of Aqua and onto the floor, kneeling in front of her and placing his palms on his thighs. “You look like an apprentice doing that.”

    “It would be my honor to learn at your feet, Master Aqua.” Terra bows his head, smirking a little.

    “Let’s start there, then.” She holds out one leg towards him, still clad in boots and stockings. “Take these off.”

    Terra unclasps her armored boots, setting them to the side before carefully unrolling Aqua’s stockings. Even as he does so, he makes sure to make plenty of contact with the skin of her thighs, fingertips and nails dragging on achingly smooth skin. Looking up at Aqua from this position, she looks so unbelievably beautiful. Watching the young boy who grew up next to him blossom into such an incredible woman was an honor. Master Eraqus started with one boy and one girl for apprentices, and ended with the same, though who was what changed somewhere in there. Terra can’t begin to articulate how lucky he feels to have had someone like Aqua by his side all those years. To still have her in his life, after everything he’s done, to love and be loved by in equal measure. She inspires him to be better in all the right ways.

    “Good boy.” Aqua places the ball of her foot against Terra’s chest, pressed to his pectoral scars. “Do whatever comes naturally to you.”

    He takes Aqua’s foot by the calf, raising it up and kissing the ball of her foot. He continues down the arch and past, slowly traveling up her leg and planting kisses everywhere he goes. The taste of sweat mingles with the smell of her skin on his tongue as he travels up to her knee, then does the same for the other leg from bottom to top. The only thing stopping him from not continuing, worshipping every inch of her as the perfect being she is, is his desire for direction. When he looks up to Aqua for guidance, he finds her with a hand over her mouth, eyes locked on him.

    “Well?”

    Aqua uncovers her mouth, smiling. “You’ve done well.” She leans forward, tracing the length of his jaw with a finger. “So very well, Terra. So attentive, so gentle.” She tilts his chin up with gentle pressure. “Would you like a reward?”

    “Please.” More than a little need creeps into his voice.

    “Just a bit longer.” Aqua stands, keeping her hand under his chin. “I think you know what to do.”

    Terra nods, resuming his travel up Aqua’s legs with fervor. When his lips meet the edge of her shorts the first time against her inner thigh, she shivers. The second time, she makes a sound low in her throat that makes Terra’s hair stand on end. Reaching up, he hooks a finger under the waistband and pulls them down gently, taking her underwear with it. Looking at her crotch, the small tuft of blue hair over her pussy, the beaded dew of her arousal evident on her skin, he resists the urge to lick his lips. Instead, he looks to Aqua for guidance, surrendering himself once more to her. It’s almost second nature, now, to look to her for guidance. He trusts her without reserve, knowing that she wants only the best for him. Years of replaying their last moments in his head have convinced him that it’s better this way, to trust those he loves. Months in her company have done nothing but confirm that fact.

    Aqua cups his cheek once more. “You’re doing so well. Well...I suppose you deserve your reward. Mouth, or cock, which do you want to use more?”

    The throbbing erection in his pants gives him an answer quickly enough. Just Aqua saying the word makes it twitch wildly, and the look on his face seems to tell Aqua the answer.

    “Ah. Maybe it’s for the best if we give your mouth a rest. As much as I enjoy it…” She squats down in front of him, palming his cock through his pants. “I enjoy this a lot more.” She smiles. “First, though, one last thing.” She leans against him, kissing him passionately, with an intensity he returns tenfold. Aqua pushes Terra onto his back as they continue the kiss, only breaking it when his back hits the floor with a thump. “Much better. Your part’s done, now. Just enjoy yourself, Terra.”

Aqua lifts herself up, unfastening his belt and shoving his pants down enough for his cock to free itself. She slides it in without preamble, hissing through her teeth as Terra grunts when her hips meet. He automatically places his hands on her thighs, more as an anchor than anything else. She rolls her hips, murmuring appreciatively under her breath as she gets into the movement. Terra’s gone enough that the only thing keeping him lucid through Aqua’s movements is her hands on his shoulders, leaning hard on him with her face so close to his. He can see every moment, every movement change her expression in so many beautiful ways. Aqua is gorgeous even in the most mundane contexts, but being able to watch her face contort with feeling and joy is the greatest gift she could ever give him.

“Fuck, Terra…” Aqua gasps, fingers digging into his shoulders. Her mouth twists into a grimace, holding herself back from the edge. Gritting his teeth, he realizes he’s nearly there, too. “I don’t want to stoppp.”

“Don’t stop. Please don’t stop. Fuck, I’m so close.” Terra’s grip on her hips tightens, pressure building as Aqua continues until his whole world fuzzes out, the only thing he can feel is a rush of warmth and the sound of Aqua’s breathing in his ear, rushed and exhausted. When he opens his eyes, she’s laying on him, her cheek pressed to his chest. She looks like she’s on the verge of passing out, eyes glassy and half-lidded.

“Aqua?” Terra whispers, brushing hair out of her face. She murmurs indeterminately, nonsense words that sound something like she tried to combine ‘tired’ ‘exhausted’ and ‘sleepy’ into a single mouth sound. “Okay, okay. Let’s get you cleaned up and into bed.” Terra sits up slowly, cradling Aqua against him until he can slowly get to his feet with her in his arms. Halfway to the bedroom, Aqua reaches up, fingers groping blindly at his face.

“Stay, tonight. Don’t go.”

Terra smiles, kissing her fingertips when they touch his lips. “I’m not going anywhere without you, Aqua. Never, ever.” He made that promise to himself a long time ago, and he has absolutely no intention of ever breaking it.


End file.
